IBM Master the Mainframe Challenge

Registration is still open for the IBM Master the Mainframe Challenge.  The contest is barely underway — still plenty of time to enter the challenge and start earning some amazing prizes:

• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android-based tablet computers
• $100 pre-paid debit cards
• Trips to the mainframe lab in Poughkeepsie, NY
• Custom Master the Mainframe T-shirts

No experience with mainframes necessary. In fact, the contest is designed for High School students with little or no mainframe experience, increasing with difficulty as the contest progresses. Students just need to bring drive and competitive spirit.

Contest runs through December 28, 2011.

Part 1:

IBM will provide extensive screen shots and direction, guiding students along and telling them exactly what they need to do. This part of the contest gets students comfortable with navigating the mainframe user interface, as well as introducing them to some basic mainframe concepts. The first 1,500 students to complete this section 100% correctly will receive custom Master the Mainframe T-shirts.

Part 2:

This section will require considerably more work from contestants. Using the skills they learned in Part 1, contestants will perform some more extensive systems programming (advanced commands, system setup and advanced system navigation) and application developing (C, JAVA, COBOL, assembler and REXX) tasks. The first 60 students to successfully complete this section 100% correctly will receive a $100 pre-paid debit card and a certificate from IBM. Also, students who complete Part 2 100% correctly will be invited to upload their resumes in the Student Opportunity System database, a popular recruiting tool accessible to all IBM clients and Business Partners.

Part 3:

This section is very challenging and will require extensive work from the student over weeks and months. The tasks in Part 3 are taken from real-life situations encountered by experienced systems programmers, along with challenges designed to identify the contestants with the most drive and determination. The five students who most accurately complete Part 3 will get a 16GB Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Android-based tablet computer with Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition, the top three winners will receive a two-day, expenses-paid trip to the IBM mainframe lab in Poughkeepsie, NY.

For more information, click here: ibm.com